This invention relates to the packaging of thermoplastic materials and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for packaging a thermoplastic fluid material in a plurality of individual containers.
Protective corrosion coatings for pipe sometimes take the form of asphalt base material which is extruded onto the pipe in a coating yard. It is of course necessary to leave an uncoated area at each end of the pipe so that the individual lengths of pipe may be welded together. After the individual lengths or joints of pipe have been welded, the uncoated end portions of the two welded joints are then coated with a protective asphalt base coating. The asphalt base coating normally comprises a mixture of asphalt, sand and lime.
The joint coating material has heretofore been supplied to pipeline contractors and lay barge operators in the form of dry ingredients and asphalt which are mixed together at the job site and then applied as a protective coating to the pipe. This requires a certain amount of skill on the part of the laborer who must accurately mix the ingredients in order to obtain the desired coating. Time also becomes a factor in mixing the ingredients as a definite period of time is required to obtain the necessary homogeneity between the dry ingredients and the asphalt base.
Because of the foregoing disadvantages of mixing the pipe coating material at the job site, an attempt has been made to provide the joint coating material in premixed form. This allows the contractor or barge operator to simply melt the material at the job site and not have to worry with proper mixing of the component ingredients. A time saving is also effected because the material is premixed. A problem which has been encountered in supplying premixed material is to make it available in quantities which can be easily handled without large mechanical equipment. Thus, while a relatively small quantity is desirable from a handling standpoint, this increases the problems of packaging the material on a high production basis. If the material is packaged in individual containers and only a single container filled at a time, production is slowed to a point where the economics become impractical.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for packaging asphaltic pipe coating material in individual containers in a manner which will be economically feasible.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for packaging the thermoplastic fluid material in a plurality of individual containers.
An important aim of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus for packaging a thermoplastic fluid material in a plurality of individual containers simultaneously.
As a corollary to each of the above aims and objects, an important objective of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus as stated wherein waste of material as the individual containers are filled is minimized.
Another corollary to the aims and objects set forth above is to provide a method and apparatus as stated wherein clean up of equipment is minimized by providing for a substantial filling of the individual containers with all of the material available at any one time and without overfilling of the containers.
Still another objective of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus for packaging thermoplastic fluid material in a plurality of individual containers wherein the containers are filled simultaneously and moved along a conveyor line as additional containers are moved into position to receive the fluid material.